FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ENRD
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1999
(202) 514-2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888

Statement of Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant
Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources,
on the Supreme Court's Decision Today in
Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw

"We are very pleased with the Supreme Court decision, which strengthens the right of every American to enjoy the benefits of a clean environment. This decision assures that citizens affected by pollution have the right to go to court to enforce environmental laws."

In Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that citizens who are harmed or threatened by illegal pollution in their neighborhoods can bring a lawsuit to stop the pollution and prevent future violations of the law. The case involved a hazardous waste incinerator that repeatedly violated the legal limits on its releases of mercury into a stream. The incinerator's owner argued that the citizens' suit exceeded constitutionally permissible limits, because the citizens were not harmed by the pollution, and also because any penalty would have been payable to the United States Treasury, not to the citizens themselves.

The Supreme Court rejected both arguments. The Court said that the Constitution allows citizens who choose not to fish or swim in a stream because of reasonable concerns about illegal pollution to sue under the environmental laws. The Court also found that imposing penalties on the incinerator would deter future pollution, satisfying the constitutional requirement that the citizens benefit from the relief they seek. [Docket Number #98-822 (Jan. 12, 2000)]

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